The Senate and House both voted Wednesday night, passing a bill that reopens the government and funds agencies through Jan. 15, permits the Treasury to borrow normally through Feb. 7, and provides back pay for federal employees furloughed during the 16-day government shutdown. The bill now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature, which he has said he will sign immediately.

Two weeks into a government shutdown that has hamstrung federal agencies and sent large sections of their employees home without pay, Congress is heading for another last-minute showdown — this time over raising the government's borrowing authority, known as the debt ceiling.

House Republicans unveiled a proposal that would give the Treasury authority to borrow normally through Feb. 7 and reopen the government with enough money to last until Jan. 15. The White House quickly rejected the plan.

Nearly all of the Defense Department's civilians are now working, despite the government shutdown. Many members of Congress believe none of those civilians should have been furloughed to begin with. DoD remains unsure how to address contractors under the Pay Our Military Act.

The House voted unanimously late Tuesday to pass the Federal Worker Pay Fairness Act. The bill, introduced by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) Tuesday afternoon, ensures "essential" federal employees, who are working through the shutdown, are paid on time even if the government remains closed.

The House approved a bill to ensure furloughed federal workers receive backpay once the government
shutdown ends. The vote on the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act was 407-0. Twenty-five members didn't vote. The measure now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) had introduced a Senate version of the bill earlier this week.

The Office of Personnel Management has made it official: Lawmakers and their staff members are required to purchase health insurance from one of the Affordable Care Act's health-insurance exchanges --but the government will still contribute toward their premiums. OPM issued the final rule, which goes into effect immediately, Wednesday.

Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.) introduced the "Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act" late Monday. The bill would guarantee both employees required to work through the shutdown and those placed on unpaid leave receive backpay.

For thousands of federal employees who head to work today, it won't be to execute their agencies' missions, but to shut down their computers, fill out a timesheet and, in some cases, hand over their BlackBerry smartphones. Here are four things feds should know as they prepare for the first government shutdown in more than 17 years.

If they ever make a movie or TV sitcom about Congress, they might consider calling it something like "The Wizards of Oooze". And nobody knows why better than feds on the brink of the cliff, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.